“Francis Coquelin has done well but he’s now starting when he wasn’t being considered not long ago. You’ve lost Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey but Coquelin has a bit of that all-action style about him.

“But I still think Arsenal need a player that can dominate a game in there, somebody who can create and also defend so well. A young Steven Gerrard would be perfect!”

Keown may not have much faith in the long-term success of Coquelin, but if the Frenchman performs well in the second half of them, then he could well earn a new contract and extend his stay at Arsenal beyond the end of the season.

Subhankar Mondal

A football journalist based in Wakefield, Subhankar Mondal has previously worked for Goal.com International and Skysports.com, and has had his sports articles published in The Guardian and The Observer. He has also been on the BBC in the past and his name once found its way to the pages of the World Soccer magazine. He was recently cited in a major Louis van Gaal biography.